The 3 biggest surprises of the 2024 Nationals' Season

In what ended up being a year of high highs and low lows for the 2024 Washington Nationals, there were many potential items that could have made this list in my opinion. From the team finally being able to overcome their trend of being owned by the Miami Marlins to the trade of Lane Thomas, as a Nats fans there were definitely some surprising things that took place this season.

In this article, I will break down my personal selections for the 3 biggest surprises for the 2024 Nationals season, but in no particular order.

The emergence of young pitching

Between Jake Irvin making a legitimate bid to be an All-Star earlier this season, Mitchell Parker becoming the first Nat to win his debut since Stephen Strasburg, and DJ Herz being a strikeout machine, the Nationals were blessed by their emergence of young pitching this season. We all know that MacKenzie Gore is capable of being an ace at the major league level, and starts like the one he has this past weekend when he carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning for the first time in his career was a clear showcase of this. Despite a brutal stretch mid-season that inflated a lot of his numbers, Gore leads the staff with a 4.04 ERA, and ecliped 10 wins for the first time in his career. While his control obviously needs work (1.45 WHIP), the strong finish to the season for Gore is very encouraging, and he should have 1 more start to have the chance to get his ERA into the high 3's.

The key for all 4 of the Nats' young starters is going to be establishing consistency. Parker has had a lot of solid outings and has pitched deeply into games at times, but also has had some brutal blowup starts that have his season ERA at 4.44. Herz is a strikeout machine, and honestly has probably pitched a bit better than his 4.30 ERA would show. As a guy who was thought of as a bullpen piece long-term, Herz has established himself as having legitimate starter potential at the major league level. Irvin was a Top 10 pitcher in the National League in the first half, but has showed signs of fatigue as the season has worn on, but with a 4.22 ERA overall in 183.1 innings and counting, Irvin is clearly a middle-of-the-rotation piece moving forward.

How ready James Wood was for the MLB

We all knew James Wood was going to be a very good major league baseball player. In fact, I even called it back in Spring Training, when I said he was already the GOAT. While obviously I was exaggerating (for now), Wood has been very solid since making his debut on July 1 against the Mets.

In 73 games this season, he has a slash line of .266/.358/.424 with a .782 OPS to go along with 8 homers, 39 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. He has showcased his true 5-tool potential that made him such a unicorn prospect in the minors as a 6'7" outfielder, but there is plenty of room for growth. His defense has been shaky at best in left field, and although he has 14 steals, he also has been caught 8 times, which is certainly something we want to see cleaned up going into next season.

The one thing that is shocking about Wood is that he has displayed an elite plate approach, consistently getting deep into at-bats and not being afraid to draw walks. He also has barely begun to start pulling the ball, with only 2 of his 8 homers being hit to right field, and once he makes this switch, watch out. Legitimately, I believe he could be a 40-homer threat if he begins to pull the ball more frequently, as nothing looks more effortless than Wood stepping into one at the plate. The sky is the limit for James Wood going into next season and beyond.

The demotion of CJ Abrams

In some more recent news and undoubtedly the surprise of the season for the Washington Nationals, my pick for the most surprising headline of the year has to go to the demotion of CJ Abrams. The 23-year-old shortstop, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career this season, was shockingly demoted to the minor leagues after a report of him being out in a casino until 8am before a 1pm game against the Cubs in Chicago last week.

By all accounts a stand-up guy and a great teammate, it was truly a massive surprise to hear the news about Abrams. While he has been a streaky hitter this season and at one point was engulfed in a 2-month long slump that had fans asking all sorts of questions about his lack of focus, perhaps we are finding out some of the underlying reasons now.

I am certainly rooting for Abrams to figure things out off the diamond going into next season, and I am hoping that the Nats' decision to send a message that he needs to act more maturely lights a fire under him that leads to him fully locking into his full potential, and being what we all think he truly can. Personally, I am riding with CJ Abrams until the wheels fall off, and he will always have a fan for life in me.

What do you think was the biggest surprise of the 2024 Nats' season? Was there anything else that you would have chosen? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MLB.com.